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Photo: Porsche
Did you know that in Thai culture, a specific colour is assigned to the day of the week each person is born? This was the premise behind the “911 Carrera GTS 30 Years Porsche Thailand Edition” imagined by Porsche’s in-house “dream division”, Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur, to commemorate the German marque’s three decades in the Kingdom last year.
The one-of-a-kind “Inspiration Car” featuring all seven Paint To Sample colours selected for the “911 Carrera GTS 30 Years Porsche Thailand Edition” limited series exclusive to the Thailand market. (Photo: Porsche)
A one-of-a-kind “Inspiration Car” hand-painted in all seven colours had also been produced, now displayed at the Porsche Museum at Porsche’s home in Stuttgart, Germany.
Exclusive to the Thailand market, this special edition of 30 units per colour was a product of “intense collaboration,” says Christian Heck, sales special vehicles manager of Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur. “Paint To Sample is a very important topic for us.
Craftsmanship and a passion for detail are important in Thailand, and these artistic themes are important to us, too,” explains Heck, who was born on a Friday and is therefore “a blue guy”.
The emotive power of colour
Porsche’s Paint To Sample programme creates bespoke colours from scratch to match any item you show its designers. Pictured: The PTS colour “Pastelorange” representing Thursday in the “911 Carrera GTS 30 Years Porsche Thailand Edition”. (Photo: Porsche)
Indeed, for die-hard Porsche enthusiasts, an “off-the-shelf” colour will not do. Buying a Porsche is often the culmination of a lifelong dream for many, and Porsche is certainly in the business of fulfilling people’s dreams — starting with the emotive power of colour.
Beyond the standard Porsche paint palette comprising over 100 colours, the PTS programme offers customers the unique opportunity to have their Porsche colour-coordinated to pretty much anything they hold near and dear in the ultimate expression of personalisation.
It could be an heirloom item of sentimental value or a favourite flower in a precise tone; Porsche’s experts will go to work creating your bespoke colour from scratch.
A Porsche 911 chassis has spent more than a day going through preparation in the body and paint shop. (Photo: Porsche)
“So if you want a Panamera or Cayenne in an outstanding colour that is not within the standard range, you have the opportunity to get inspiration, and the colour possibilities are endless,” says Heck. You are, in effect, only limited by your imagination — with the only exclusion being colours that require the use of elements like mercury, which has long been banned from paint production globally.
Much of the formulation and matching process to develop your dream colour is then carried out by hand, similar to how perfumes are created. The way the combinations of pigments and materials interact with one another is akin to how ingredients are selected and delicately infused to create the perfect fragrance.
Green tones are the most popular PTS colour choices, particularly on Porsche 911s. (Photo: Porsche)
It takes around eight months to develop most PTS colours, with those using iridescent Chromaflair paint — which changes depending on the lighting and angle using technology similar to that used in the holograms of bank notes — taking slightly longer.
According to Heck, green tones, including British racing green, are the most popular choice, particularly on Porsche 911s, followed by blue hues.
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The emotive power of Porsche’s PTS programme is perhaps most ubiquitous in its cult following online. There is even an Instagram fan account called @ptsrs dedicated to Paint To Sample. It features images of new Porsche car deliveries submitted by owners worldwide for its 200,000 followers to gawk at and geek out over.
“Colours are a very emotional business,” says Christian Heck. Pictured: The PTS colour “Ultraviolet” representing Saturday in the “911 Carrera GTS 30 Years Porsche Thailand Edition”. (Photo: Porsche)
“We have many crazy customers,” announces Heck. He recalls one of the most outlandish PTS requests coming from a Swiss interior designer who had designed an outrageously luxurious hotel in Dubai. “This really shimmery guy came with a cup and a saucer and said he wanted his 911 Turbo Cabriolet (997) to be the same intense, metallic orange. We mixed his colour and he was super happy with it,” he shares.
“When it comes to these cars, it’s becoming more and more like a toy store, and grown-up people go a bit crazy, especially in the special request section. They’re so personally involved with it that they get angry if you say ‘no’. And we tell them, ‘Calm down; we’ll find something for you. Don’t worry’. Then, when it’s finished, they’ll stand there with tears in their eyes. Colours are a very emotional business.”
